Jonathan David earns Atlético precious win over 10-man Real Madrid in fractious derby

Diego Simeone said it had been a special week in Madrid, with a “tremendous energy about the city,” and it ended the way he wanted. He said he had enjoyed watching the Formula One race, and he had enjoyed going to see Shakira. He enjoyed this even more, at least by the time the referee blew the final whistle after many, many blasts. That moment sent him sprinting up the tunnel, punching the air. His team led 2-0 against 10 men, with goals from Álex Grimaldo and Jonathan David, and seemed to be in control. But a late goal from Antonio Rüdiger brought back old worries and made the final minutes tense. Still, they had done it.

“A lot has happened in Madrid this week but this was the only thing that mattered in his mind and mine,” Atlético’s goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, said. José Mourinho’s first derby back ended in defeat and recriminations: he turned up at the press conference with a picture of two moments in which he felt that Atlético players – Lee Kang-in and Cristian Romero – should have been sent off, and insisting that the story of the derby was there. And yet there are other questions: over the way Dean Huijsen gave away the penalty and got the red card that tilted the game against them, and the way Real played. How little they did until that moment when, briefly, they appeared to have a lifeline.

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A familiar foe had defeated him. It is 13 years since these managers met in this fixture, their last time the day that Atlético finally broke a curse and won the Copa del Rey at the Santiago Bernabéu. That night, Mourinho was sent off and didn’t go to get his runner’s-up medal from the king as Atlético won their first derby in 13 years. His return to Real Madrid has been driven in part by nostalgia and it was like old times in the press room. At times in the first half here it was like old times too. Which were not always good. Mourinho and Simeone are “companions of war”, the Real manager had said, and so it was.

Twenty minutes passed before the first shot. Aurélien Tchouaméni shot from 25 yards but it went over the goal. It was not until the 39th minute that a shot was on target. That shot came from outside the penalty area, and Oblak pushed away Arda Guler's effort. Apart from that, little else happened in terms of actual football. Tensions had been rising almost from the start. Guler was the first to confront the referee after Álex Baena fouled him. Guler then fouled Baena back.

From the bench, something was said and Simeone was booked; the scene was set. This was a battle played out down there as much as out on the pitch, where it was tough and tight. When Lee went looking for David with a cross towards the back post after quarter of an hour, it was the closest anyone had got, physically, to either goal, and immediately Real broke up the right. The roar that greeted Marc Pubill’s tackle to take out Kylian Mbappé said something about the fear it was in transition that Atlético would be caught. The fear or, from Mourinho’s point of view, the hope. The plan, in fact, and they would wait for the moment.

The hosts had more of the ball and the territory but they tended to approach with caution. The lines of white shirts before them didn’t offer them the space to run into, so they were inclined to go to wide, which almost always meant the right wing. Another advance on that side led to a moment soon after when Ibrahima Konaté’s moment of doubt saw David take the ball from him inside the area, leading to Giuliano Simeone flashing wide. Then Thibaut Courtois had to dive to push a Lee cross away. At the other end Vinícius Júnior shot over twice – both over, both from distance – before the half’s most significant moment. Which, appropriately, wasn’t about the play.

Instead, Jude Bellingham slid in to tackle Romero, and the referee gave him a red card. Bellingham was angry, and so were his teammates and Real Madrid's bench. The video assistant referee then got involved. The referee, Miguel Ángel Ortiz, was struggling to control the situation. He was called to the screen to watch the incident again. On the replay, he saw that Romero's studs had hit Bellingham's knee. He canceled the red card, and Bellingham kept playing. Atlético felt the card should have stayed. Real Madrid felt the same way later, when Lee's studs hit Federico Valverde.

Arguments continued and angry words were exchanged, but no clear scoring chances came from them before half-time. Two red cards were shown at half-time: Atlético’s goalkeeper coach and Real’s assistant coach were both sent off.

The second half began with Koke introduced and Baena immediately forcing a save. It was Atlético’s first shot on target, and it was the start of an entirely different game. Their second shot soon after would give them the lead, and an advantage that was even bigger than that. A long ball over the top from David Hancko dropped out of the sky and into the run of Simeone and, as he tried to bring it down and head into the area, Dean Huijsen dragged him down. Ortiz pointed to the spot; he was also called to the VAR screen again. Not to overturn the penalty, that could not have been clearer, but to change the colour of the card. Huijsen walked, Grimaldo scored and the Metropolitano exploded.

It seemed likely that Mourinho would do the same. First, he took off Guler and Vinícius and brought on Yan Diomandé and Rüdiger. Vinícius had done little, managing only 22 touches, so a change was needed. But decisions like this have sometimes caused problems before. For example, taking off the Brazilian player late in last year’s clásico – a match Real Madrid actually won – marked the start of the end for Xabi Alonso. It is not yet clear what effect this substitution will have. The change did not have any real impact either. Instead, Atlético doubled their lead. Again, it came from the right side, where Lee, who played very well, passed the ball to Simeone. His low cross, which curved behind Madrid’s back four, was perfect. Six yards out, David turned it in.

David was substituted right away, and Julián Alvarez came on to replace him as the home fans whistled. Atlético kept attacking, and the Argentine nearly scored a third goal. Courtois made an amazing save from Romero, and when the ball came loose, Konaté saved Madrid twice. The second time, he cleared the ball off the goal line from Alvarez. Simeone sensed a chance to win and brought on Ademola Lookman as well. Real Madrid seemed unable to do anything. Oblak barely had to make a save. Real Madrid did not touch the ball in Atlético's penalty area at all in the second half, until they scored in the 89th minute. Kylian Mbappé barely touched the ball anywhere on the pitch. In Atlético's half, a pigeon sat pecking at the grass for several minutes, with not even a quick counterattack to disturb it.

When Diomandé finally broke free with 15 minutes left, Oblak saved his shot, which went straight at the goalkeeper. This wasted the chance to change the final minutes of the match. Or so it seemed. From a dead ball, Rüdiger headed the ball in, giving them hope. This brief comeback attempt was short and incomplete, unlike Simeone's difficult week.